Control of the state Senate will be up for grabs when voters head to the polls on Election Day Tuesday.
The statewide races and state Assembly are expected to remain in Democrat control, but the state Senate has become a contested battleground. Currently, Democrats outnumber Republicans 33 to 30 in the chamber, but the GOP has control with the aid of six breakaway Democrats. Of the toss-up seats this election cycle, some of the most competitive races are in the Hudson Valley.
Republican state Senate candidate Joe Dillon was in Mamaroneck Saturday working to get votes. Dillon has received the backing of former Republican Gov. George Pataki in his bid to unseat Democratic incumbent George Latimer.
For their part, Democrats countered with a rally of their own in Yonkers in an effort to boost turnout for Latimer.
Meanwhile, this year Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo had promised to support Democrats to regain control of the Senate. But he hasn't campaigned for them loudly or with much frequency. Cuomo was noticeably absent from the rally in Yonkers.
Democratic Conference Leader Sen. Andrea Stewart Cousins says, however, that the governor has held up his part of the bargain.
Either side needs 32 seats to win control of the chamber.